In spite of the fact that a lot of the low-budget seams are showing here, COFFEE DATE is not yet another vapid gay film filled with airheaded twinks or equally vapid muscleboys whose problems pretty much run the gamut between sex, drugs, sex, money, sex, clothes and...did I mention sex? Not only that, but this little B-level indie has the audacity to ask That Question - the one that always seems to tie everybody's Calvins in a knot: If a straight man sleeps with a gay man, does that mean he's still straight? And if a gay man does the same with a woman, does that make him gay?
It begins as a prank: Todd (Jonathan Bray) is the victim and his uber-slacker brother, Barry (Jonathan Silverman) the instigator. The fastidious Todd decides to go on a coffee date pre-arranged by his slobby sibling, who makes Walter Matthau in THE ODD COUPLE look like Martha Stewart. Of course, Todd should know better, but if he did, this would be a real short movie. All that he knows is that he's going to a coffee shop to meet his mystery date, someone named "Kelly". I guess you can see this coming from ten miles off. Todd has no idea that Barry set the date up on a gay dating site, the coffee shop in question is located in WeHo, and "Kelly" just happens to be the VERY-out owner of a hair salon and spa in the neighborhood.
Anyway, the already more-than-semi-neurotic Todd meets Kelly (a very hunky Wilson Cruz, one of the best openly gay actors working these days), and is about ready to run for the hills, except that Kelly is...not that bad. He's funny, attractive, and shares Todd's interest in movies, among other things. And so a friendship begins to blossom.
Where the frappaccino hits the fan is when Todd decides, as a way to get back at his idiot brother, to pretend that the date with Kelly went well...VERY well. Kelly, amused by the idea, decides to play along. Barry takes the bait and Todd and Kelly get a few laughs from his reaction. But soon the joke is on Todd, as suddenly he realizes that Barry doesn't think he's kidding...he thinks that Todd really has come out! But things don't stop there. Suddenly, Mom (Sally Kirkland) is involved. And then the neighbors. And then people at the office where Todd works. And then...well, let's just say that everyone becomes so convinced that Todd and Kelly are an 'item', that even poor Todd himself isn't so sure anymore about his sexual background. And soon, there's only one way for him to find out the truth...
Jonathan Bray is perfect for the role of Todd. He's neurotic, but adorable - like Woody Allen with a much better body and a lot less of the tics. Which is perfect, because it wouldn't be very convincing to have a Brad Pitt-type questioning himself the way that Todd eventually does. And Wilson Cruz is completely believable, giving a great performance that only carries a touch of camp, as opposed to other actors who would've ridden this all the way into Cliché-land. Plus, Wilson's Kelly is the kind of guy you could easily see a guy OR girl falling for.
Sally Kirkland and Jonathan Silverman are two actors best served in small doses. While there's just enough of him here, there might have been a tad too much Sally. Legendary status and all aside, I just don't think she was up to the challenge of exploring the more nuanced sides of Mrs. Muller, Todd and Barry's mom. (For that, you'd need someone like an Ellen Burstyn or a Judith Light, but I'm sure they were well above the price range this budget had to offer.)
The blink-and-you'll-miss-her cameo by Leigh Taylor-Young as Todd's boss was great, but I wish there had been more. And while I enjoyed seeing Deborah (aka Debbie) Gibson in a role that's a pretty nice stretch for her as a predatory co-worker of Todd's, the underrated Lisa Ann Walter only gets a few lines as a soused gal-pal. (Is there no justice?)
Jason Stuart and Elaine Hendrix were outstanding in roles that appear to be stereotypes, (as Todd's office friend and Kelly's roommate, respectively), but turn into something completely different. And it was so great of director Stewart Wade to write in parts for even Jon Bray's wife (who must be the most understanding and supportive woman of the year!) and the two actors who starred in the original 'Coffee Date" short from which the feature came.
Though there are technical and editing problems here and there, those are minor quibbles, especially when there are so many mainstream gay 'dramedys' that won't even touch the subject of the fluidity of human sexuality. Are we really the people we think we are, or are we who we are because we try to live up to everyone else's expectations of who we should be? I would've liked to have seen more delving into this aspect, but it would've taken a more serious movie with a longer running time, a bigger budget and a sensibility more substantial than just being passed off as "light entertainment."
But for what it is, COFFEE DATE is definitely worth discussion afterward, over your own favorite cuppa Joe. Or Steve. Or Mike. Or...
It begins as a prank: Todd (Jonathan Bray) is the victim and his uber-slacker brother, Barry (Jonathan Silverman) the instigator. The fastidious Todd decides to go on a coffee date pre-arranged by his slobby sibling, who makes Walter Matthau in THE ODD COUPLE look like Martha Stewart. Of course, Todd should know better, but if he did, this would be a real short movie. All that he knows is that he's going to a coffee shop to meet his mystery date, someone named "Kelly". I guess you can see this coming from ten miles off. Todd has no idea that Barry set the date up on a gay dating site, the coffee shop in question is located in WeHo, and "Kelly" just happens to be the VERY-out owner of a hair salon and spa in the neighborhood.
Anyway, the already more-than-semi-neurotic Todd meets Kelly (a very hunky Wilson Cruz, one of the best openly gay actors working these days), and is about ready to run for the hills, except that Kelly is...not that bad. He's funny, attractive, and shares Todd's interest in movies, among other things. And so a friendship begins to blossom.
Where the frappaccino hits the fan is when Todd decides, as a way to get back at his idiot brother, to pretend that the date with Kelly went well...VERY well. Kelly, amused by the idea, decides to play along. Barry takes the bait and Todd and Kelly get a few laughs from his reaction. But soon the joke is on Todd, as suddenly he realizes that Barry doesn't think he's kidding...he thinks that Todd really has come out! But things don't stop there. Suddenly, Mom (Sally Kirkland) is involved. And then the neighbors. And then people at the office where Todd works. And then...well, let's just say that everyone becomes so convinced that Todd and Kelly are an 'item', that even poor Todd himself isn't so sure anymore about his sexual background. And soon, there's only one way for him to find out the truth...
Jonathan Bray is perfect for the role of Todd. He's neurotic, but adorable - like Woody Allen with a much better body and a lot less of the tics. Which is perfect, because it wouldn't be very convincing to have a Brad Pitt-type questioning himself the way that Todd eventually does. And Wilson Cruz is completely believable, giving a great performance that only carries a touch of camp, as opposed to other actors who would've ridden this all the way into Cliché-land. Plus, Wilson's Kelly is the kind of guy you could easily see a guy OR girl falling for.
Sally Kirkland and Jonathan Silverman are two actors best served in small doses. While there's just enough of him here, there might have been a tad too much Sally. Legendary status and all aside, I just don't think she was up to the challenge of exploring the more nuanced sides of Mrs. Muller, Todd and Barry's mom. (For that, you'd need someone like an Ellen Burstyn or a Judith Light, but I'm sure they were well above the price range this budget had to offer.)
The blink-and-you'll-miss-her cameo by Leigh Taylor-Young as Todd's boss was great, but I wish there had been more. And while I enjoyed seeing Deborah (aka Debbie) Gibson in a role that's a pretty nice stretch for her as a predatory co-worker of Todd's, the underrated Lisa Ann Walter only gets a few lines as a soused gal-pal. (Is there no justice?)
Jason Stuart and Elaine Hendrix were outstanding in roles that appear to be stereotypes, (as Todd's office friend and Kelly's roommate, respectively), but turn into something completely different. And it was so great of director Stewart Wade to write in parts for even Jon Bray's wife (who must be the most understanding and supportive woman of the year!) and the two actors who starred in the original 'Coffee Date" short from which the feature came.
Though there are technical and editing problems here and there, those are minor quibbles, especially when there are so many mainstream gay 'dramedys' that won't even touch the subject of the fluidity of human sexuality. Are we really the people we think we are, or are we who we are because we try to live up to everyone else's expectations of who we should be? I would've liked to have seen more delving into this aspect, but it would've taken a more serious movie with a longer running time, a bigger budget and a sensibility more substantial than just being passed off as "light entertainment."
But for what it is, COFFEE DATE is definitely worth discussion afterward, over your own favorite cuppa Joe. Or Steve. Or Mike. Or...